


Opta Ardua Pennis Astra Sequi

by kris_king_of_the_losers



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater, Star Trek
Genre: F/M, I make up a lot of aliens in this, If you're a huge fan of Star Trek and you see inaccuracies I assure you they're intentional, M/M, POV Multiple, Slow Burn, blame e e cumings for that one, enough Shakespeare references to recreate some of his lesser works, gratuitous use of google translate, listen the trees may speak Latin but I don't, the terrible punctuation is a stylistic choice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 19:57:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16541165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kris_king_of_the_losers/pseuds/kris_king_of_the_losers
Summary: Starfleet Command BriefingUSS Henrietta (NCC-6210)Stardate 2234.45Operation Deep Space ExplorationThe five year mission of the USS Glendower did not proceed as planned. Both ship and crew were in uncharted space when Starfleet Command suddenly lost all contact. Terran Command Estimates losses at 578 missing and presumed dead.The USS Henrietta will assume control of the USS Glendower’s mission:To Explore Strange new worlds; to seek out new life and civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before.More details will be provided at the briefing tomorrow at 0800





	Opta Ardua Pennis Astra Sequi

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Star Trek/Raven Cycle fusion, but more in the sense that I'm using the characters of the Raven Cycle, and the world of Star Trek. I'm also pretty much making a patchwork quilt out of both plots, and picking and choosing whatever suits my needs, so this is gonna be a wild ride. Enjoy!

Adam Parrish stood amongst the dust and dirt of a dying planet, his face turned skyward. Blood trickled slowly from his nose and left ear. A physical reminder that he was unloveable, unknowable. As worthless as the dust he stood on. Adam made no effort to stem the blood flow; he was beyond caring. The part of him that would’ve cared was out of reach, ground under his father’s heel and replaced by a terrible numbness.

 

He wondered distantly, carelessly, if he was broken. 

 

Blood collected on his chin, a tributary fed by his pain, thick, and warm, and full of life. It hung there, suspended, before splattering at his feet. 

 

Instantly the night around him sprang to life; the planet drifting back into consciousness, fed by his unwitting sacrifice. Adam could feel the thrum of the earth through his feet, a pulse of life that was so rarely present. Around him a breeze picked up, caressing his face, soothing his swollen eye, his bruised jaw.

 

“ _ Magician”  _ the wind sung. Welcoming him. Naming him.

 

Adam closed his eyes, accepting the comfort it brought him.

 

“ _ A ship is coming,”  _ the stunted, gnarled trees around him whispered, their raspy voices replacing the ringing in his ear. “ _ One that sails among the stars” _

 

_ “Fly away with them, Magician, these visitors from the heavens. There they cannot hurt you. The stars will welcome you, protect you.” _

 

Adam frowned, wincing as it pulled his split lip.

 

“How?” His voice cracked. Hope, pain, grief, replacing the numbness. 

 

_ “We will guide you,”  _ The wind promised, non-existent fingers carding gently through his hair.

 

_ “But, we cannot protect you, not if you choose to stay. And it hurts us to see you hurt.” _

 

_ “Our strength is waning. Once we could have protected you, but no longer. Awake, we grow frail, were we to sleep we could outlast the death of this planet. _

 

_ “ _ **_We_ ** _ could not,”  _ The trees admonished.  _ “And when the last of us died, so would you, Magician. To preserve our strength and sleep would cost everything. _

 

_ “There are others like you: bridges between our worlds. But they are asleep, scattered across the stars. You alone are awake, and if you choose to stay, asleep they will remain.” _

 

_ “Let us guide you, Magician. Leave behind the pain of this planet, and wake your court." _

 

Adam opened his eyes, the weight of knowing too heavy to draw comfort from the wind any longer. The sight that greeted him, however, was not the one he had closed his eyes to. Millions of stars filled the sky, far too close, and far too bright. Galaxies spun before his eyes in a blinding brilliance. Star nurseries glittered tantalizing, and Adam was suddenly filled with a painful desire to belong to it all. It was easy to resist the temptation of cold and distant stars, but this, this was every desire Adam had ever had all wrapped into one.

 

“What do I do with this?”

 

_“You cannot save us_ _by staying, but you can save this by leaving.”_

 

_ “Choose, Magician, and choose wisely.” _

 

* * *

 

The ship that landed was all gleaming chrome and sleek lines. It was bright and rich, with unrusted metal polished to a sheen, and not a dent in sight. It was a work of art, designed as much for aesthetic as it was for function, and Adam felt his heart lift at the sight of it. It screamed luxury and opulence, the antithesis of everything on the planet where it stood.

 

The visitors who poured out of the ship, were unlike anything Adam had ever seen. The clothing they wore bore impossibly bright colors and wrapped around them in an unfamiliar fashion; hugging their limbs, and defining their silhouettes. The colors weren’t content to limit themselves to the visitors’ clothes, however. Jewel tones shone in their hair and skin; a visible cacophony of noise that made them as beautiful as their ship.

 

Even if Adam hadn’t been informed of their foreign nature, the sight of them alone would’ve been enough to tip him off. These visitors were vibrant and alive in a way nothing on his planet was. Adam felt painfully small in comparison. 

 

His own clothes were shapeless and colorless. They hung off of him in long layers of rough fabric, bleached by the scorching rays of the suns, and frayed by endless wear. His skin and hair were the same brown as the dust of the earth, and his face was mottled with bruises and crusted with blood. 

 

He was a poor representative of his planet, but he wasn’t there as a liason. He was an escapee. So with gritted teeth, and forced courage, Adam left the scant cover of the tree line, and approached the visitors.

 

It took them far longer than he expected to notice him. They were focused on thin sheets of glowing glass that they passed back and forth while talking amongst themselves. When the visitors finally saw him, Adam had stopped a mere ten feet away from them.

 

Immediately, they all reached for the glinting object that hung around each of their waists, either palming it, or pointing it directly at him.

 

Adam regarded them curiously. The clothes, and vibrant colors seemed to be the only uniformity amongst them. The differences between them were small, but numerous and varied. There were round ears, long antennae, elaborate brow plating, glittering skin, and diagonal eyebrows all scattered randomly between them. Wherever these visitors were from, they weren’t all from the same place.

 

They also didn’t shield their emotions. Adam could feel apprehension, fear, and suspicion emanating from them. He wondered if it was a cultural thing. Perhaps they left their emotions unguarded as a sign of trust, or maybe they’d never had a need to hide them. It must be a loud society that left their emotions exposed across multiple planets.

 

One of the visitors stepped forward. They had a golden shirt, the only one that Adam could see so far, and light green skin: luminescent and shining, as though sprinkled with stardust. They were also one of the few not pointing an object at him.

 

They spoke to him, in a lilting language, all rolling vowels, with one word blending seamlessly into the next.

 

Adam could only stare uncomprehendingly at the golden visitor, frustrated by his own lack of understanding. How was he supposed to leave with them, if he couldn’t understand them?! His eyes stung with unshed tears, as the hope that had led him to them started to wilt.

 

“I can’t understand you,” He interrupted, his voice thick with emotion. Next to their lilting language, his own sounded heavy, clunky. Rough, discordant consonants, and blocky words that each required their own breath.  

 

The Golden visitor tilted their head, appearing to study him for a second, before understanding bloomed across their face. They held up a solitary finger, before turning and convening with the rest of the visitors.

 

Adam watched as they gestured and talked amongst themselves, and felt the mix of fear and apprehension they emitted shift entirely to excitement and curiosity. The objects they had drawn on him were all returned to where they’d originally been, and two new objects were brought out and pressed into the hands of the golden visitor, who turned back to face him.

 

The golden visitor held up one of the objects for him to examine. It was a round, unbroken circle  made of same gleaming chrome as their ship. The golden visitor pulled at it, seperating the circle into halves, before reassembling it around their neck. They then held out the second circle, raising their eyebrows invitingly, as they offered it to him.

 

The wind and the trees had promised Adam that he’d be better off with these visitors, and that was the only thing that emboldened him to walk forward and fasten the remaining circle around his own neck. 

 

Adam frowned at the golden Visitor, unsure of what to do next. He didn’t know what the circle was supposed to do, and he was wary of being this close to them.

 

The golden visitor didn’t appear to hold his reservations, however, as they projected delight at Adam’s cooperation, and smiled kindly.

 

This time when they spoke, there was a second voice that accompanied them. Toneless and mechanical, but completely understandable.

 

“I am Captain Oleski, an officer of Starfleet and member of The United federation of Planets. We’re here as a landing party to determine the standing Class H status of this planet, and study the native flora and fauna.”

 

Adam’s frown deepened as he attempted to parse through the sudden burst of information, before simply resigning himself to asking more questions. 

 

“Nice to meet you, Captain Oleski.” He replied tentatively, and the same mechanical voice as before accompanied his own, translating it into the incomprehensible language of the visitors. 

 

“I’m Adam Parrish, and I'd like to join you on your ship.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I've got a full-time job and ADHD out the ass, so the update schedule can range anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. I'm really inspired at the moment, however, and I've also got three notebooks of notes and outlines, so I'm mostly sure the next chapter will be out relatively soon. Thanks for reading!


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